Welcome!
Ms. Krall 347
First things first…
 Are you in the right class?
The Agenda for the next couple of
days….
 Student information
 Syllabus overview
 Introduction to the class and first unit.
Student Information
 On the index card
provided…
 Name
 Parent/Guardian name
 Parent/Guardian contact
number
 Contact email
 Where do you see yourself
in 10 years?
 On the back…
 Why are you taking this
course?
 What is your predicted
grade?
 Why is this so?
Syllabus
 Course Topics
 Course requirements
 Course expectations
Topics
 Sociological imagination
and sociological research
Topics
 Culture and cultural
variation
Topics
 Socialization of individual
within a group
 Social Institutions
Topics
 Crime and deviance
Topics
 Social stratification
Topics
 Social groups and social
inequality
Topics
 The role of education and
religion in society
Today’s Objectives…
 Seating charts
 Finish syllabus
 Introduction to the course
Course Expectations…
Class web page
Welcome back!
With your neighbor….
 Name one topic of sociology you learned yesterday….
 Name one thing that you learned about your neighbor…
Activity…
 What does Society look
like?
 Are there similarities
within your group?
 Spend 5 minutes drawing a
picture or diagram of
American society.
 Are there differences? How
can that be?
So What is Sociology?
Activity!
 In a list write down as
many things that you can
think of to describe
yourself.
 Cross off everything that
describes you as individuals
and leave all that describes
you in terms of your
relationship and
interactions with others.
What do we have left?
 That we are not simply
individual members of
society but we also identify
ourselves in social terms!
 We need social interaction
to survive and thrive as
individuals!
 So what IS sociology?
 The scientific study of
human behavior in groups.
 Study of groups and societies
humans build and how these
affect our behavior (social
interaction)
 Study of everyday behavior
in a critical light
(sociological perspective)
Good morning
 Bell Ringer…
 Tell your neighbor one thing
your learned about
sociology yesterday…
Lifeboat Activity!
Sociology
Chapter one
The Sociological
Imagination
Today’s objective: To define Sociology, The Sociological
Perspective and how Sociologists use this perspective to study
society.
Your bell ringer…
Defining Sociology
 “the scientific study
of the behavior of
humans in groups.”
 it is often a look at
the everyday, but in
a critical light
 “the systematic
study of the groups
and societies humans
build and how these
affect our behavior.”
(Social Interaction)
 Developed in the 19th
century
24
How Sociology fits in
Introduction to Sociology: What is Sociology?
Questions sociologists ask:
 How does being a member of a particular social group
shape behavior?
 What are the patterns of behavior?
 What are the roles of individuals in groups?
First rule of sociology
 Things are not what
they seem to be!
 in uncovering these
layers, we look for:
 in order to
understand society
we take the role of
other people, hence
a sociological
perspective ( a new
way of looking at
ourselves)
 1. The general in the
particular
 2. The unusual in the
usual
27
The Sociological Imagination
 C. Wright Mills used the term sociological imagination
to describe the ability to look at issues from a
sociological perspective.
 Personal troubles versus public issues
 Ex: unemployment, obesity
Introduction to Sociology: What is Sociology?
Example…
 After reading your handout look closely at the picture…
To think about…What’s going on
in that picture?
 What is the impact of making assumptions in our daily
life?
 How do societal norms ( what we might think is right
and true) impact our expectations and our
interpretations of events?
Welcome Back!
 Bell ringer for today….
 Define the sociological imagination with your neighbor
 What are three questions that sociologists ask?
Answers…
 a new way of looking at ourselves
 How does being a member of a particular social
groups shape behavior?
 What are the patterns of behavior?
 What are the roles of individuals in groups?
 Reminder- homework due tomorrow!
Another example…
Sociological point of view
Ex. Suicide
 List six reasons why
someone would take
their own life.
 Sociologists ask…
 1. what do people
do? (descriptive)
 Why do people do
what they do?
(explanatory)
Your reasons…
Rephrase your statements into
feelings
 How are they alike?
 “Unhappiness
Theory” of suicide:
People commit
suicide because they
are seriously,
chronically, and
profoundly unhappy.
 This theory, is an
example of an
individualistic (or
non-sociological)
explanation.
 It is not wrong, but it
is not particularly
sociological.
Rate, Number, and Ranking of Suicide for Each U.S.A. State*, 2005
Rank State [Division] (2004 rank) Deaths Rate
1 Montana [M] (2T) ....................... 206 ...........22.0
2 Nevada [M] (2T) ......................... 480 ...........19.9
3 Alaska [P] (1). ............................. 131. ..........19.7
4 New Mexico [M] (4). .................. 342. ..........17.7
4 Wyoming [M] (5). ......................... 90. ..........17.7
6 Colorado [M] (6). ........................ 800. ..........17.1
7 Idaho [M] (7) ...............................228 ...........16.0
8 Arizona [M] (11). .........................945. ..........15.9
9 South Dakota [WNC] (13). ......... 121. ..........15.6
10 Oregon [P] (10) ........................... 560 ...........15.4
11 Oklahoma [WSC] (14). ............... 522. ..........14.7
12 North Dakota [WNC] (29). ........... 92. ..........14.5
13 Arkansas [WSC] (20). ................. 400. ..........14.4
13 Tennessee [ESC] (18T). ...............856. ..........14.4
15 Utah [M] (9). ............................... 348. ..........14.1
16 West Virginia [SA] (8). ................255. ..........14.0
17 Kentucky [ESC] (16T). ............... 566. ..........13.6
18 Florida [SA] (15) ......................2,347 ...........13.2
18 Kansas [WNC] (16T). ................. 362. ..........13.2
18 Maine [NE] (21). .........................175. ..........13.2
21 Washington [P] (18T). .................822. ..........13.1
22 Missouri [WNC] (22). .................727. ..........12.5
22 Vermont [NE] (12). ....................... 78. ..........12.5
24 Mississippi [ESC] (23). ...............363. ..........12.4
24 New Hampshire [NE] (39T). .......162. ..........12.4
26 South Carolina [SA] (29T). .........510. ..........12.0
27 Indiana [ENC] (33). .....................745. ..........11.9
28 Alabama [ESC] (24T). .................535. ..........11.7
28 Ohio [ENC] (29T). ................... 1,341. ..........11.7
30 North Carolina [SA] (24T). ......1,009. ..........11.6
30 Wisconsin [ENC] (24T). ............. 643. ..........11.6
32 Pennsylvania [MA] (32). ..........1,430. ..........11.5
33 Virginia [SA] (35). .......................866. ..........11.4
34 Iowa [WNC] (28). ....................... 333. ..........11.2
34 Louisiana [WSC] (27). ................ 505. ..........11.2
Why is one state higher than
another?
 It is the external
factors that
sociologists are more
concerned with.
 explanations for
human behavior
emphasize external
factors and that
individualistic (or
non-sociological)
explanations
emphasize internal
factors.
The four types…
 According to Emile
Durkheim, there are four
classifications of Suicide
 Egoistic (mentally ill)
 Fatalistic (terminally ill)
 Altruistic (cults, suicide
bombers)
 Anomic (can’t handle
stress, insecure)
Activity 2…Ted and Zelda
 As you read this partial biography of Ted and Zelda’s
lives, write a list of the social issues and social
processes that contributed to their difficulties.
41
Welcome Back! Bell Ringer…
1. Which of the following is NOT an example of a social
science?
a. biology
b. political science
c. psychology
d. economics
Introduction to Sociology: What is Sociology?
42
2. Sociology is defined as:
a. the scientific study of humans.
b. the study of ancient cultures and behavior.
c. the study of how the brain works.
d. the study of human society and social behavior.
Introduction to Sociology: What is Sociology?
 3. What are the four types of Suicide according to
Durkheim?
Activity 3
 How would each of the social sciences look at the
following police incident…
 If this was deemed a suicide, which one of Emile
Durkheim’s Theories would apply?
The Sociological Imagination
A New Way of Looking at the World
“When wars happen, an insurance salesman becomes a rocket
launcher; a store clerk, a radar man; a wife lives alone; a
child
grows up without a father. Neither the life of an individual,
nor the history of a society can be understood without
understanding both…
Yet men do not usually define the troubles they endure in
terms of historical change and institutional contradiction.
The well-being they enjoy, they do not usually impute to the
big ups and downs of the societies in which they live…
The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and
biography and the relations between the two within society.
That is its task and its promise.”
C. Wright Mills (1959)
Teenage Wasteland
 As you read the article, write down your response to the
following question….
 Do you think C. Wright Mills would hold the four
teenagers responsible for their suicide or would he look
outside of them for a cause?
Welcome Back!
Bell Ringer….
Think back to yesterday’s scenario of the man found dead
in his apartment. If this was deemed a suicide, which
one of Emile Durkheim’s Theories would apply?
Theories!!!!
How does society function?
Structural Function Theory
 Functionalism views
society as a set of
interrelated structures-or
parts.
 each structure performs a
function which is important
to the maintenance and
stability of society.
 Society is seen as existing
in a state of consensus
 Social systems perform
functions which keep
society stable.
 Ex. Family, school,
religion, community
 Two types: Latent
(hidden) and Manifest
(obvious)
Conflict
 Conflict theory
assumes that life
rarely runs smoothly
and conflict is a
natural part of social
relationships.
 Conflict theory takes
the view that society
is based on
competition over
scarce resources.
 This competition
generally manifests
itself in struggles
between dominant
groups and
subordinate groups.
Good Morning!
 Bell Ringer
 Review with your neighbor
the following two
sociological theories…
 1. Structural Functional
 2. Conflict
Symbolic Interaction
 analysis of society
that seek to explain
how people make
sense of the world
including (1) how the
self concept is
formed, (2)how
meaning is applied to
symbols, and (3) how
reality is socially
constructed.
 the process through
which the use of
symbols makes social
behavior possible.
 Subjective meaning
must be examined to
understand behavior.
 Meaning can change!
Key activity
 Look at the two sets of key
chains. Write down a list of
descriptors.
 In your assigned groups
write a description of the
key chain based on your
theoretical perspective
 Use only the characteristics
on the board
Bell Ringer
 With your neighbor, review important sociologists
Agenda
 Review theories/ theorists
 Review! (first quiz on Thursday)
 Next unit- Culture!
Theorists
 August Comte
 Father of sociology
 Father of functionalism
 Emile Durkheim
 Solidarity!
 Mechanical- bonded
together by shared beliefs
and values
 Organic- bonding by
division of labor, must rely
on each other to survive
 Karl Marx
 Conflict!
 Class struggle and the need
to develop class
consciousness
 Equal wealth=peace
 Jane Addams
 Conflict
 Founder of the American
Sociological Association
 Hull House
 Democratic power for all
 W.E.B. DuBois
 Conflict
 Two worlds- “double
consciousness”
 George Herbert Mead
 We use symbols to define
ourselves and create our
own identities.
 Through interaction, that is
how society is created
 Study society at the micro
level
Review!
 Define sociology
 Know what questions
sociologists ask
 Define the sociological
perspective
 Define the three major
sociological theories
 Know your sociologists!
Good Morning! Bell Ringer
 What is the first rule of sociology?
 Quiz tomorrow!!!
Activity!
 Your group is shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island.
The island has a plentiful supply of wild fruits, plants,
insects, birds, fish, and trees. Some fresh water can be
found but most of it is contaminated by salt water. Your
group has come to rescue the following items from two
life rafts.
Island activity
 2 large fishing knives
 4 plastic gallon jugs of
water
 1 25 foot rope
 1 large plastic tarp
 1 set of binoculars
 1 can opener
 20 cans of fruits and
vegetables
 Each group must establish a
list of rules, procedures,
and task assignments that
would allow the group to
survive on the island
indefinitely